Saturday Night Live (tv program)

Just two weeks before NBC starts selling ad time for the 2016-17 season, the network announced Monday that the legendary late-night sketch program will have two fewer national commercial breaks starting this season, its 42nd.

"As the decades have gone by, commercial time has grown," the show's creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels said in a statement. "This will give time back to the show to make it easier to watch the show live."

"Saturday Night Live" runs 93 minutes. About one-third of that is devoted to national and local...

Related "Saturday Night Live (tv program)" Articles

NBC is cutting the commercial clutter during "Saturday Night Live."
Just two weeks before NBC starts selling ad time for the 2016-17 season, the network announced Monday that the legendary late-night sketch program will have two fewer national commercial...

Shonda Rhimes, the powerhouse producer behind "Scandal", "Grey's Anatomy" and "How To Get Away With Murder," will be inducted into the National Assn. of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame in 2015.
The induction will take place during the NAB Show Television...

In her hit single "Break the Rules," Charli XCX makes one thing clear: "I don't wanna go to school!" she insists over a propulsive synth-pop groove.
Yet on a recent evening, school was precisely where the young British singer found herself. Charli XCX...

In a soundstage on a particularly desolate patch of Long Island, Allison Williams is dangling in the dark from a 25-foot harness. The "Girls" star floats stealthily above a brightly lighted bedroom where a make-believe family belts out the "Peter Pan"...

Hannibal Buress has always known that his name gave him an edge over other comics. Sharing a first name with the infamous cannibal from "Silence of the Lambs" has been an instant attention-grabber — both positively and negatively — as his stand-up...

John Cleese recently fell under the spell of singer Taylor Swift when they appeared together on the popular British chat series "The Graham Norton Show," which airs here on BBC America.
"I am more ignorant about music than anyone you have ever spoken...

As a cash-strapped university student in the late 1970s, Jim Boelke had an idea and applied for a patent and today he owns a profitable factory with distribution from Japan and Hong Kong to Europe, South America and every state in the United States....

Steaming bowls of pasta, a taco bar, jars overflowing with M&Ms and jelly beans — that's what Jena Malone remembers about being on a movie set as a kid. The food.
"I grew up like without any sort of fancy food. So I literally stuffed myself silly," the...

It was just after 11:30 a.m. when Aaron Sorkin rose from the hulking leather club chair in his office to light a cigarette and announce his retirement from television.
The man known for dexterous, incisive dialogue was taking a break from the throes of...

As Thomas Wolfe once wrote (and I believe I'm accurate here): You can go home again despite the fact your new sitcom on Fox just pulled a 0.7/2 rating among viewers 18 to 49, attracting 1 million fewer eyeballs than your lead-in, a "Family Guy" repeat. Of...

Britney Spears has a new man, y'all.
The "Work Work" songstress revealed on Wednesday that she's dating someone. Charlie Ebersol, to be exact, the son of "Saturday Night Live" co-founder Dick Ebersol.
"Yes, there is a special someone," the pop star told...

With Chris Rock as host and Prince as musical guest, "Saturday Night Live" this weekend earned its highest ratings since February, according to early Nielsen numbers.
The NBC show averaged a household rating of 4.9/12 in Nielsen's 54 metered markets...

Former Ravens running back Ray Rice will probably have to be reinstated by the NFL after his appeal hearing Nov. 5-6, but he most likely won't play again until next season.
Rice is still carrying too much baggage and can't completely start rebuilding his...

Neil Patrick Harris has been a sitcom star, Broadway regular and award-show host, among many other things. Now he's about to add variety emcee to his resume.
The former star of "How I Met Your Mother" will host a new hour-long variety show for NBC...

Cobie Smulders has another little agent on the way: She's pregnant with her second child.
The "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "How I Met Your Mother" star is expecting baby No. 2 with husband Taran Killam of "Saturday Night Live," her rep...

Is Fox's "Mulaney" on the ropes?
The network has cut the episode order for the freshman comedy starring comic and former "Saturday Night Live" writer John Mulaney from 16 to 13. The series has drawn lackluster ratings since its premiere two weeks ago.
...

Amy Poehler is sharing several juicy secrets about her personal life ahead of the release of her memoir "Yes Please."
In excerpts that surfaced via RadarOnline, the "Parks & Recreation" star has detailed her previous drug use and her feelings about...

It's time to stop being Baltimore-nice about local sports icons Cal Ripken and Ray Lewis and their cable TV careers.
Being Hall of Famers on the field doesn't automatically translate to success in the studio or broadcast booth. In fact, it's often the...

The Nov. 1 episode of "Saturday Night Live" should be subtitled "Let's Go Crazy."
Comedian Chris Rock will be the host, and the musical guest will be Prince.
The evening will mark Rock's return to "SNL" -- he was a cast member from 1990 to 1993.
Prince...